David Ginola spent seven memorable years in English football after joining Newcastle United from Paris Saint-Germain in 1995. The maverick France winger is best remembered for stunning goals and silky footwork for Newcastle and Tottenham, but he also had spells at Aston Villa and Everton.
There are so many classic Ginola goals it is hard to pick out a definitive top five but, on his 50th birthday, we had a go.
1. NEWCASTLE UNITED vs. Ferencvaros, October 1996
A masterpiece that made Dele Alli's goal against Crystal Palace look average. Newcastle were leading 2-0 against the Hungarians in the UEFA Cup when Keith Gillespie's corner was flapped at by the goalkeeper. Ginola, lurking on the edge of the box, controlled the bouncing ball on his right knee, nonchalantly flicked it over the head of an onrushing defender and hammered it into the corner with his left foot. He later said it was his most memorable goal.
2. Barnsley vs TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR, March 1999
Ginola channelled Ricky Villa with a stunning solo goal in the 1999 FA Cup quarterfinal. On a poor pitch at Oakwell, he picked up the ball on the left touchline, 40 yards from goal, and skipped past an onrushing defender. Then he calmly waltzed through four more lunges before tucking a low side-foot past the goalkeeper. The goal sealed a 1-0 win for Spurs and booked a semifinal meeting with Ginola's former club Newcastle. "Football is about instinct -- when you think too much, things tend not to work! It's best to let your imagination and your creation do the business most of the time," said Ginola, who was crowned PFA and Football Writers' Player of the Year that season.
3. NEWCASTLE UNITED vs Manchester United, October 1996
Perhaps the pinnacle for Kevin Keegan's "Entertainers" was this 5-0 thrashing of Manchester United. Ginola scored the second after half an hour, receiving the ball with his back to goal, taking one touch and rifling an unstoppable curling drive into Peter Schmeichel's top corner. "On his day, David Ginola was unplayable," teammate Rob Lee later recalled. Thirteen weeks after the goal, the Frenchman was sold to Tottenham, leaving him "broken."
4. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR vs Leeds United, February 1999
Darren Anderton had already scored a stunner from 35 yards in this FA Cup quarterfinal but the show would belong to Ginola again. The Frenchman had rattled the woodwork twice -- both breathtaking runs and shots -- before Tim Sherwood's cross was scooped up into the air by Leeds centre-back Jonathan Woodgate. Ginola took two steps and whacked a glorious volley into the bottom corner from 30 yards, finally beating opposition goalkeeper Nigel Martyn.
5. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR vs Middlesbrough, April 2000
A goal that summed up all that was good about Ginola. A deft first touch, followed a burst of speed to ghost past a defender, ended with a rasping finishing into the bottom corner. Spurs were trailing 3-1 at home to Middlesbrough in the Premier League and despite Ginola's best efforts this was to prove just a consolation goal. What a consolation, though.